


Practically Perfect

by loisselina (LoisSelina)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Drabble, Dragon Queen - Freeform, F/F, This is a little late, first family christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 02:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoisSelina/pseuds/loisselina
Summary: Mal's been putting off buying presents for their children and Regina wants to know why.





	Practically Perfect

It was probably a surprise to most people that Regina was actually fairly experienced at the art of Christmas shopping, more than fairly experienced really, she had pretty much perfected it, even if she did say so herself.

Usually it was just herself and Henry to buy for: As Henry had gotten older he had insisted on buying her present himself, often volunteering to do more chores to be able to save up more money to buy what he really wanted to get her, now sixteen he was working in Gold’s shop to save up money to buy his relatives presents. Had her life not been flipped upside down then righted again, (almost righted… perhaps more like bettered in everyway yet still turned sideways, in all of the best ways) she would still only have Henry to buy for. But now she had so many more people to add to her to buy for list, both her immediate and extended families, she had made it a point to be super organised, more so than usual, she had offered Mal the option of going shopping with her, but Mal had laughed and said that Regina was too prepared or ‘too anal’ as she had actually said.

Now it was December 23rdand Mal was in an outright panic. She had their entire family to buy for: Lily and Henry as well as Roland and Robin who the two women had adopted as their own son and daughter after Robin the first’s death.

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Don’t say anything.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Regina tried to hide her smile, she looped her arm through her wife’s as they tried to avoid a throng of last minute shoppers working as a group, a whole family of late shoppers.

“You were thinking about it.” Mal practically growled, more bark than bite.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

They scoured through the shops, looking for presents from Mal, and a few spare bits from the house Regina wanted, but Mal didn’t take a fancy to any of the items Regina suggested or showed her for their kids. Eventually Regina dragged her into a coffee shop, ordering the two of them cups of earl grey, getting off their feet in the packed coffee shop. She watched as Mal took a long sip of the hot tea, her eyes closed, and she smiled as she swallowed the tea.

When Regina spoke her voice was quiet and soft, like she would when talking to Roland or Robin, as though scared she would break them if she spoke to harshly. “Why can’t you find anything you want to give to the kids?”

“There’s nothing good.” Mal complained quickly, too quickly.

“No.” Her voice was gently but firm. “There’s loads of things you know that they would like.” She reached across the round table top, taking hold of Maleficent’s always hot hand, she squeezed it making her wife lock eyes with her. “Mal?”

“This is our first Christmas that we’re all going to be together and able to celebrate… I don’t want to mess it up.”

Regina’s heart melted. She knew exactly how Mal was feeling, she had been through it all before, she smiled lovingly at her wife. “You’re not going to mess anything up, the kids could be given the worst presents possible and they’d be happy because you’re there for them, not just on Christmas, but every day. You’re their Mama and they all adore you. Anything you get them will be perfect.”

Mal wanted to argue but she wasn’t sure what exactly she could argue against, she knew Regina was right, and she knew that she had been putting off going shopping purely out of the pressure to make it perfect.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It took a little more cajoling and searching before Mal begun to enjoy herself, helping Regina find stuff for the kids to do over the break, and eventually she managed to figure out what to buy all of her kids.

In the end Mal choose both Lily and Henry new cell phones; the latter of which was currently using one of Regina’s hand-me-downs and the former of which was always complaining about having to carry around both a phone and a separate music player, she knew Regina had got them both fancy wireless headphones which would go well with the phones. Roland was nearly ten now, and like his father and the Merry Men, who he visited often, he loved the outdoors, absolutely anything outdoors, and Mal found him a bike, he had been using Henry’s old one, he rode all around the town on that old bike, now he would have a brand new one to show off. Robin’s gift came last, there was so much choice for three year olds, but Mal knew what to get her when she spotted the painted dolls house.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

On Christmas morning the older kids pretended to believe that Santa really had given them all of the presents spilling out of their stockings and sacks, perhaps even believing just a little themselves, then gave each other the gifts they had bought for their other siblings, they let them play or check out all of the gifts until the kids were eventually desperate for more presents to unwrap. Regina gave hers to them first, Lily and Henry’s headphones, Roland’s nerf gun and bow and arrow set, and Robin some set for the dollhouse.

Mal felt her stomach turn when it was her turn. She handed the two smaller presents to the oldest of their children, but magicked the wrapped presents for the younger two into the room. The kids all tore into the wrapping. Mal felt her heart beating in her chest fast, like how her wings flapped fast before she took off.

Then Lily gasped, she looked over alarmed, but Lily was happy, more than happy, she was overjoyed, so was Henry, Robin squealed, jumping up and down in excitement as she saw her brand new dollhouse, Roland whooped and jumped onto his bike cycling out of the room and back in, neither of them told him off. She felt Regina take her hand and squeeze it like she had in the coffee shop, she looked over and smiled at her, she should have known by now that her wife was always right.


End file.
